kpopil

Any tips on how to break the crankshaft pulley bolt? My husband wedged a large screwdriver into the driveplate ring gear teeth to hold the pulley stationary. He's trying to use a breaker bar and socket to loosen the pulley bolt but isn't haven't much luck. Does anyone have any tips?

carguy07

I have used the starter to bump the engine over and break loose crank pulleys before (not this car though). It sounds cheesy, but works great. Just get the breaker bar on the bolt and put a block of wood between it and the ground and key the starter a few times.

Sorry to hear your belt was the problem. I was ready to bet that it had to be something else. Shows you what I know.

salimshah

Impact driver is the best thing to use. Rent one if you need to. If driveable, you can take it to a mechanic to loosen the bolt. Wedging can lead to other problems and using the inertia is the best thing.


For the starter setup ^^ one needs to do the spin study and position the breaker-bar and socket and floor just right. It is risky as the force to keep the socket "ON" is missing. Make sure the vehicle is sitting securely on ground.

Another way is to use a heavy hammer and give the breaker bar a sharp blow (cheap impact wrench equivalent) .. needs room and can also ruin the head if the socket is not held properly.


One more thing ... does any one know for sure the direction of threads?

Salim

Edit ... just saw the other thread .. it seems this hurdle is behind you. Good Luck ...

artbuc

This works great...I couldn't budge mine with an impact wrench. Looking at the bolt, it will turn counterclockwise when the starter is bumped. I tied my breaker bar to the frame so it wouldn't "slap" up against it. Just bump the starter to make sure you don't start the car.

Edit: The crank will rotate clockwise. Holding the crank bolt while bumping the engine will, in effect, rotate the bolt counterclockwise - lefty loosey.

code58

Artbuc- I believe the bolt is Locktited from the factory and i cleaned the threads and Loctited it when it went back in as well as torqued. I believe I drilled a piece of 1/4X1 1/4 strap iron and bolted it to it to lock it and then used a breaker bar on it. The Locktite is what keeps the impact from loosening it.

artbuc

I did the same thing. The torque spec is 159 ft-lbs - alot when you can't get a good angle on it! I used pre-drilled 1/4" bars and bolted them together to form a yoke which I attached to the crank pulley with high strength cap screws. I actually bent the yoke and snapped one of the cap screws on the first try.

kpopil

We couldn't get the impact wrench to work either. But my husband did get the bolt loose. My husband went and bought some tools that worked but I don't know what they were.

Thanks again everyone for your help!